#really wish we’d checked that photo with sophie | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

wolfpawn · 4 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 164

Chapter Summary -Tom and Danielle begin to plan their wedding, the only issue is, they are struggling at even deciding the location.

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1 @black-ninja-blade

Tom sighed as he looked at the coffee mug in front of him. “So, trouble in paradise?” He looked up at Ben, who sat beside him with his own cup of tea in his hand.

“No, we just were getting bothered by arrangements so we said we’d take an hour or two away from everything to just take a step back before an actual argument took place.”

“Good plan. So, what was the issue?”

“Location.”

“Yeah, Sophie and I spent a while talking about it. I mean, you know how it is with the Isle of Wight, it’s a fucking island, so there was the transport costs, and it’s a holiday resort and it’s expensive to live in, so that doesn’t help but it means something to Sophie’s family and is far easier to police than London, so we went with it in the end. Where are the different options?”

“I want Oxford, it’s where I grew up, maybe even Suffolk, just not London, too open.”

“And Danielle wants?”

“Ireland.”

“Oh, there’s not much room for compromise when there are two different countries involved,” Ben commented.

“It’s impractical. Most everybody that will be at the wedding will have to travel there for it from here, only a few of her family would not have to, and even at that, some of her family are in the States so they will have to travel also, how is that fair?”

“What’s her reasoning for it?”

“What?”

“Why is she pushing for Ireland?” Ben queried.

“I am not even sure.”

“Why, did she just say the country in general, or is it that she is talking about some random area outside of where she is from.”

“No, I think she is talking about Connemara. It just makes so little sense.”

“Well, not exactly. Kuala Lumpur would make little sense, her hometown in her home country at least makes sense.” Ben pointed out. “She did say that for her cousin’s wedding, that the tradition is to have it in the bride’s hometown, has that something to do with it?”

“I don’t know,” Tom recalled the conversation at the awards ceremony with Sophie and Ben a few months previous.

“Well, how about you ask her. If this cannot even get past location, how are you supposed to go any further? This is sort of an integral part of it all.”

“It just all seems so much stress and bother.”

“Most of it is and you wonder what’s the bloody point to it also, but that is all part and parcel of it. At the end of the day, it is worth it if you are both happy and I know, for all of the madness that this entails, you do actually want to marry Danielle.”

Tom nodded. He wanted that, he did not want the madness that it would entail and if he and Danielle could not agree on even something as simple as location, then he worried for it all. “I need to talk to her.”

“Yes.” Ben encouraged.

Tom took out his phone and dialled Danielle’s number.

“Hello? Tom?”

It was clear her phone was not to her ear and that he was on loudspeaker. “Yes, I thought….are you not at home?”

“No, I am in the car, pulled in, obviously. I needed to do some stuff. I thought we were going to take an hour or so to settle?”

“I know, I just...Elle, can I ask, why is it so important to you that it is in Ireland. I just want to know.”

“I...we said we’d talk later.”

“Elle?”

“I just thought it would be nicer, my grandparents got married there, my dad was christened in that church, then he and Mam got married there, I was christened there. According to the parish records, the Hughes’s have been there since pre-famine times. They have my great great grandfather’s signature in the records at that church and I know it’s small and dated, but it’s thirteenth century and I just...I think that’s nicer. I know it’s a different country and I know it’s a pain in the ass area to get to in another country but it matters to me.” There was no response to her statement. “Tom?”

“I’m here...I never realised.”

“We’ll talk later. I just need to get this done, I will talk to you soon, bye.”

“Bye.” The phone line went dead and Tom looked at his phone for a minute before looking at Ben, who was looking at him expectantly. “So…” He knew that with him being right next to him, Ben heard all of what Danielle had said.

“Seems a logical reason to want it there, if I’m honest. It matters to her. Now you need to ready your reason for having it here.”

“I don’t really have one, other than convenience.” He confessed before going silent for a moment. “Convenience does not trump tradition and historical sentiment, does it?”

“How long has it been since that famine, a hundred and fifty or so years, and Danielle can trace her family using that exact church in that time, that’s noteworthy, and it clearly means a lot to...wait, that’s another thing.”

“What?” Tom asked, worried at the look on Ben’s face. “What’s another thing?”

“Danielle’s a Catholic.”

“Yes, I know.”

“You’re not a Catholic.”

“No.”

“How does that work? Can you get married in a Catholic church if you’re not?”

“I have no idea.” In truth, Tom had not even thought of such issues. Neither he nor Danielle were in any way religious and their different faiths had never been much of a discussion as a result, but he had to wonder how it would work. “I need to check that.”

“You do.” Ben urged.

Tom parked his car into the drive and got out, going to the boot to take out the few bits of shopping he had gotten on his way back from Bens. He stood looking at Danielle’s car for a moment, knowing that something was peculiar about it but uncertain what the difference was. It was only when he realised the tyres were darker than before did he realise that she had gotten them changed. He huffed slightly in amusement, he had gone rushing to a friend to talk while Danielle did something practical and sensible.

Bringing in the shopping, he noted the quiet in the house. Both dogs greeted him as he placed the groceries on the counter before putting them away. After a few minutes, he wondered where Danielle was as her car keys and keys to the house were in their usual spots, meaning she was somewhere within it and with the boiler not making noise, it was obvious that she was not in the shower. He walked up the stairs and heard the telltale whirring of her fax machine. He knocked on their office door, which was slightly ajar and waited. A moment later, Danielle opened it and gave him a small smile. “Hey.”

“You got your tyres done?”

“Yeah, they were bothering me recently, getting a tad thin so I said I would grab four more.”

“How much?”

“Six, I got them from a place on the edge of the city, for cheaper than here, one place quoted me a thousand.”

“Jesus.” He looked at the machine. “Fun?”

“I wish, the paperwork for the Paramount job.”

“When’s that?”

“Two weeks in November. I will have to go to Croatia for it.”

“That’s fun.”

“Is it? What is Croatia even like at that time of year? I also need to do a week in Budapest. The joys of being the European Coordinator.”

“You love it really.”

“I love the paycheck and the doors it will open for me.”

“Brutal honesty.”

“So, what did you get up to?” Danielle asked curiously, not wanting to focus too much on work.

“I spoke with Ben.”

“And how is he?”

“Good. He was asking for you.”

“Bless him.” She smiled as she looked for a paperclip to keep certain pages together.

“He actually mentioned something to me that I never even thought of.”

“Oh yeah?”

“The fact we’re not the same religion.” Danielle paused and looked at him. “And how that will affect us.”

“Well, we’re not exactly utterly devout to our two branches of Christianity.”

Tom nodded in agreement. “But say we do this in that church you were talking about, how does that work, how can we get married there if I am not a Catholic?”

“Well, we could always convert you but that failing, they are not overly bothered.”

“Really?”

“You know, for all the wrongs that the Catholic Church has and there are plenty, it is not as backward as you all think over here. I mean, I have seen Protestant schools that demand a letter from the local reverend proving kids go to service at least every second week, Roger in work asked to use the fax there to send on his paperwork when getting his daughter into their local school. In Ireland, the schools may have a Catholic priest on a school board, but if you don’t even get Christened, you are fine to get into the school usually. The church isn’t as it was, it will marry Catholics and Protestants, as long as you fulfil what is required of you in their eyes.”

“Me?”

“No, plural ‘you’. It’s just they go through the ceremony and you have to do a stupid course on the meaning of marriage and all that other bollix no one pays heed to. It’s a ‘tick the box’ exercise really.”

“You clearly hold it all in such high regard.” Tom joked.

“Oh, yeah, clearly.” Danielle scoffed in return. “It’s a tad hypocritical of a man that will never be allowed marry giving marriage advice. I don’t think its something they can give practical experience of. I know what it will take to be married to you, patience, understanding,” She leant in close to him. “And nice underwear.” She added in a whisper, causing Tom to chuckle and lick his teeth.

“You’re not wrong.” He pulled her to him. “I was thinking.”

“Oh dear, those words usually lead to something terrifying. What, dear Thomas, were you thinking?”

Tom scoffed at her referencing his full name. “I wanted Britain for convenience, but all things considered, I think Ireland is the better place for the wedding.” She said nothing in return. “It matters so much to you, I can see now why and as long as at the end of it, I get to call you my wife, I don’t care if we have to travel for it. I only care about us being married.”

Danielle bit her lips together and inhaled deeply. “I…I don’t want this to cause arguments. I don’t want something fancy, I don’t need twelve thousand pound dresses and chandeliers, but that...that is something I would love, so much. It’s such a big part of our family tradition, so much so that my Mam forewent the usual tradition of her parish for Dad’s. All of my family, all of our records are there and it means a lot to me. I...thank you.”

“Just promise me if I give in to this request, you won’t turn into Bridezilla.”

Danielle snorted at his comment, knowing him to be joking. “I promise I’ll try not to. But if someone does not RSVP on the right date, or wears pink…” She laughed playfully.

“Oh dear, she’s started.” Tom laughed in response.

#I Hate You I Love You #chapter 164 #tom hiddleston fic #tom hiddleston #wolfpawn

11 notes · View notes

monster-mum · 6 years

Text

Home, Home on the ... Island?

In 2014 something happened that changed the course of our lives in a very unexpected way.

It was a difficult day as Chris was leaving that evening for another three-month deployment overseas, so emotions were high. Steven was three and a half and Lyla wasn’t even one yet. We were in a big indoor play centre in St. Austell, Cornwall and Chris was waiting for a phone call. For the past few months Chris had been interviewing for a new job. We really hoped he’d get it as we desperately wanted to make a change in our lives, especially where his work was concerned. As we watched Steven bouncing of the walls in utter delight and Lyla rolling around on the floor kicking her legs, dribbling and chewing on anything she could get her chubby fingers on, Chris’ phone began to ring. He looked at me and walked off to answer it. I sat patiently waiting for him to come back and let me know what, if any, our options were. A few minutes passed and he returned.

Chris: “Well, they’ve offered me a job.”

I smiled pleased but could sense a ‘but’ coming.

Me: “That’s great! Where’s the job?”

He looked nervous

Chris: “Stornoway.”

Me: “Stornoway?”

Chris: “Yeh. Stornoway.”

Me: “Where’s that?”

Chris: “The Isle of Lewis.”

Me: “Ahh, yes. Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis…where’s that?”

Chris decides that Google Maps could be very helpful here. As he types in Cornwall to Lewis I watch as the red line keeps travelling higher and higher up the map. It turns out the Isle of Lewis is over 800 miles away from Cornwall. I sat quietly for a few minutes (quite the feat for me) as I processed this unexpected information.

Me: “When do we need to let them know?”

Chris: “Before I leave tonight.”

Nothing like making a huge life decision in the space of a few hours.

Chris: “Nic, we do not have to accept this job offer. We have been here for six years and you have supported me in my job to no ends, even though you have never been happy here. You’ve sacrificed a lot. if you do not want to go than that is fine. It is completely up to you. I will find a job wherever you want to live.”

He’s a good egg my husband eh.

As I sat looking at the map of the UK amazed at how long our nation actually is, I processed what he was saying. He wasn’t wrong, our life in Cornwall had involved a lot of sacrifice, support and understanding on my part but in turn Chris had made some huge sacrifices to take care of us. He had missed so much time with the children, especially Lyla and he’d never get that back. Chris is amazing, he never complained or moaned about how hard it was on him to not be around, to miss the kid’s assemblies and plays, so many of their firsts. As far as I was concerned his sacrifices were far greater than anything I had done. This was his dream job. I knew how badly he wanted to do it, though he’d never say.

Me: “Let’s just go for it Chris. We have never been there and we’ve always wanted to live in Scotland. It’s your dream job. Just say yes. Let’s go for it.”

I can remember the shocked look on his face as I said this. I don’t know why he was so surprised I can be a fairly unpredictable individual.

Chris: “Are you sure? We don’t have to.”

Me: “I’m sure. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go somewhere else. We’ll give it six months and if we’re not happy we’ll look elsewhere. Time for a new adventure I think.”

And that was the beginning of our Hebridian adventure.

Two years later and our time to move finally arrived. It was a long time to wait for a move, plenty of time for me to get apprehensive and start to doubt our flawless decision-making process of let’s just go for it. What if we had made the wrong decision? What if we weren’t accepted into the community? What if we didn’t make any friends? What if the kids didn’t settle?

We’d never moved an entire house before, let alone with two children, a spaniel and a cat who hated travelling. We decided that the kids would travel up with my parents stopping in Glasgow for four days as a rest stop. So, as me and Chris set off with our happy go-lucky spaniel and our elderly, drugged up to the nines, I hate cars and will vomit every time I’m in them cat, we began our 800-mile journey North. The journey went smoothly until we got to Glasgow and discovered our Ullapool to Stornoway ferry had been cancelled. Since we had decided that moving four days before Christmas would be the easiest most stress-free time to move across the entire country, this was quite a worry. Our moving lorry had to be back down south for Christmas Eve, preferably without our furniture and the kid’s Christmas presents on board. We needed to get to Lewis, one way or another. As I start to plan a way to add some kind of floatation devices to both our car and the lorry the amazing staff at Calmac ferries came to our rescue. Squeezing us onto the Skye to Harris ferry and the lorry onto the freight ferry at 3am they saved Christmas for us.

We arrived at our new home shortly before midnight on the 21st December. Our first proper home that we had bought. We were so excited! We unleashed our mad spaniel, Sophie, who zig-zagged around our front garden sniffing anything and everything. Carrying our rather fed-up cat Maxie into the house and disposing of him in the utility room I opened his cage door and then ran around excitedly, pleased that we’d finally made it. After a few minutes I went into the utility room to check on the moggy and low and behold the bloody thing had disappeared. I called him, no response. I love cats, I love what jerks they can be. Sometimes it’s not ideal like when you realise you left the front door open in a new house, it’s midnight, pitch black and your black cat has disappeared, possibly out the front of the house. I immediately had an image of Maxie hitch hiking back to Cornwall. “But how will he get across the sea?!”

Me: “CHRIS! Max is gone and the front door is open.”

So, our first hour in our new home, on our new island was spent walking up and down the road out the front of the house calling our cat. I should also mention that the streetlights turn off at 11pm here, so it was very dark, freezing cold and windy. I couldn’t believe this was happening to us and immediately deduced that this was an omen and the whole world was going to end. Returning to the house deflated at the loss of our cat, after only living here for an hour, Chris disappears into the kitchen only to call me a minute later. The bloody cat was hiding under the kitchen units! Relieved and a bit annoyed we closed up the house and headed to bed to get some rest before the manic day of unpacking began.

Moving the furniture in was pretty straightforward, other than having to remove the living room window due to the awkward shape of our TV unit. Other than that, it went well. Later that day my parents arrived with our two monsters. The kids were thrilled by their new house and promptly ran riot looking in every room and every cupboard.

It was great seeing how happy they were.

Fifteen months later, one cat down and a baby up we’re settled in. Maxie sadly died three months after we moved in, he was old and basically held together with duct tape so it didn’t come as a major shock to me and Chris. We buried him in a Hotel Chocolat box in the garden. Steven and Lyla dealt with it well and now offer regular tours of Maxie’s grave if anyone is wishing to visit it.

Living here is like stepping back in time in a way. Children play out in the streets and are in and out of each other’s houses. Everyone knows each other and never hesitates to help someone in need. Moving from a community where we had new neighbours every 18 months this is a new and welcome change. I can remember taking the kids to their first day of school and looking around at all the parents and Grandparents doing the school drop off and feeling the enormity of what we had done. I had no one up here, we knew no one. One-time Lyla had managed to tangle her hair so badly it needed to be properly cut. I drove around for half an hour unable to find a hairdresser’s because I didn’t know where any of them were. I sat and cried in the car feeling very alone and very far away from home.

It hasn’t taken long to find our way around or get to know people here, within a few months we had made loads of new friends as had Steven and Lyla. Chris settled into his new job well and is really enjoying it. The best part is that we get family time together and in abundance. He doesn’t miss out on the important things. He is there for the kids shows and performances, for their clubs and just day to day things. He’ll not miss any of Lachlan’s firsts and our tiny monster will never have to experience his Daddy going away for anything longer than a week or two. I remember years ago I had this friend whose husband was deployed more than Chris. Before he left for a new job all her photos were of her and their girls as he was never there to be in them. Once they moved and he started his new job all of her photos had him in them because he is around more now. That is what it is like for us, Chris is now in our photos and in our lives more and yes, I know he can be annoying with all his “opinions” but life is definitely better with him around more. He still goes to work regularly so I do get a break from him every now and then. Overall, I’ve discovered all my worries and doubts to be completely unfounded as we have adjusted to our wee island life.

Who would have thought it’d take moving to a little island off the west coast of Scotland for us to finally feel at home.

#scotland #outer hebrides #writinglife #a new beginning

8 notes · View notes

elevenhoursinfront-blog · 7 years

Text

15th June 2017

Steve got up and went to work. He had a short day so he should be home after about 5 hours. The couple got up around 0800 and again, were loud as anything. It's just principal not to be loud whilst others are sleeping. I got up and out of bed at 0930 when they left the room. Stupid people. I carried on doing my blogs which were taking hours. I tried to do my photos again but it wasn't connecting to my laptop so I'll have to text my brother to see what I'm doing wrong. I really needed breakfast and a drink as I had sat in my bed for a few hours. That's the annoying thing about being on the 10th floor. It takes ages to go to the kitchen and back. I wanted to get finished before I started my day properly.

At 1230, Sophie messaged asking if I wanted to have lunch with her. I said yes – meet at 1300 on level 3! Steve was on his way home and expressed his starvation vividly. He told me that he wanted turkey mince wraps and salad for lunch as he was starving. His stomach was eating itself. His stomach thought his throat had been cut. He needed 20 million wraps... And so on.

I went to Coles and got what we needed. It was all cooked and ready as he walked through the door. I am a great housewife! We sat with Sophie chatting away. It was Thursday so free Prosecco night at ABC. We sat we would meet around 1700.

After lunch, Steve went upstairs to get his work stuff off. I went to Sophie's room to do her bandage as its on the back of her neck and she can't reach. I done it for her the other day too. She has doctors in an hour or so at 1530 so hopefully he will tell her no more antibiotics or bandages...

I went upstairs and that awful couple checked out! YES! Fingers crossed for new quiet roommates.

Steve said he was absolutely exhausted so I told him to have an hour nap. He doesn't like to nap as he struggles to sleep at night time if he does. I said that I was going to get Mel a birthday card and present for tomorrow if he wanted to come for the walk to wake him up. He remembered he needed to go to Office Works to print out time sheets. Both of the shops were in walking distance (5 minutes away). I got Mel a card with an avocado on the front saying “I hope you avo really nice day”. She loves avocados and I think they're the most pointless veg in the world. I tried to find her Quorn chicken nuggets but they weren't being sold anywhere. I ended up getting her a dog tote bag (which was only $2 that goes to charity), broccoli, peppers, vegetarian burgers and an avocado. It sounds silly but these are all luxury items so she'll be pleased. It's also best not to buy people things that have to be carried round with them.

We got back to the room and I wrote out Mel's card. She loves Steve and I – she calls herself our third wheel. She's travelling here alone but doesn't want us to leave. I told her she's happy to follow us if she wants too. It's not an issue to us.

Steve and I have been told a lot that we are a really nice couple which has been good to hear. Sophie said we are the first couple she's met where she likes both parties equally. We met Mel's boyfriend – Jack, for the first time at the weekend and he told Mel that he really likes us. He finds Steve funny (somehow). He said that he gets the vibe that Meg and Dan don't eve like each other but would spend time with Steve and I again.

Steve and I learnt a lot about how we've been brought up this weekend. Well, I have. Steve probably didn't think into it. We were the only ones to properly tidy up when we left the houses at the weekend. Steve was cleaning down the sides and I was picking up and folding used towels. I didn't want them to think we were disgusting people even though we'd never see them. We made the beds again and cleaned out the bath, put stuff away after using them. It's very easy to see how people are brought up when you live with them. I think we're quite alright.

Anyway, off subject slightly...

Mel rang me and said she was coming to the room. I quickly put her stuff into my locker and she sat on my bed and we chatted away. She was having an emotional couple of days because she doesn't like her birthday, especially away from home. She had a bit of a tiff with Jack because he wants to title their 'relationship' as official but she wishes to keep it as 'seeing' each other for now, whilst they're in Australia. They both knew each other from home so they could go for it properly at home. I really like Jack and I can see how much he likes Mel. She has commitment problems after her ex.

Sophie came knocking on the door and she came in and sat on Steve's bed. We chatted away for a while. She had just got back from the doctors who confirmed – NO MORE ANTIBIOTICS! Woo. She has been on them for months so she's very excited to get drunk tonight. It was 1715 by the time Mel and Sophie left the room. I got dressed, Mel made spaghetti hoops on toast and Sophie changed her outfit.

We met in the kitchen at 1800. We left a little after schedule (as always) and got the tram to ABC. Megan was going to meet us there and she was making dinner. I didn't want dinner and Sophie was going to buy the $5 pizza there.

We got there, ordered our first free Prosecco and sat down. Soph's pizza came quiet quickly – they're always ordered on a Thursday so I presume they make batches.

Mel's friend Neesa was in ABC too and asked us to sit with her. Soph and I didn't really want too as we had met her before a few Thursday's ago. We got up and moved to their table. She had about 8 friends with her and we all squished up around this small round table. We were drinking and chatting away. Neesa is from Ireland, where Sophie lives and Neesa's friend, Zara is from Aldershot, near to where Mel lives.

Megan joined us around 1930. She got her Prosecco and squished in next to us. We had about 4 Prosecco's by this point so we fairly tipsy. We got up and danced around and came back to the table. We got one more final drink at 2030. The bar tender said the rules had changed and it's not longer 1900-2100 $1 Prosecco which is rubbish! We had a cheap glass of wine and left to dance to Despacito.

We went back to the table and everyone had left. Sophie and my coat had left also... I couldn't believe that we got up to one song and our coats had gone. What scumbags would take two coats and a scarf. Honestly! We went to the bar staff and security, left our details and whatever else. I said to Mel that I reckon her friends had taken them, maybe by accident, maybe on purpose.

Sophie wasn't afraid to ring them so she did. Neesa said “I'm sorry, my friends lifted your coats. We will meet you somewhere to give them back?”.

I knew it. Mel was shocked. She's going to delete them off Facebook and whatever else. The were only cheap Kmart coats but its principal... I spent ages without a coat waiting to get the money to afford a cheap one, not to have it stolen under my eyes! Neesa said they couldn't wait the whole 10 minutes for us to meet them to get them back. They said they would drop them into the hostel and we can get them from reception... We got outside the hostel, all the girls ordered McDonald's and I went upstairs to see if they had dropped them off...

They were in reception except Sophie's scarf wasn't returned. Never mind. At least we will be warmer. We got the main things back. How rude!

I made a turkey salad wrap and ate that. The girls demolished the rest of Sophie's birthday cakes and Mel made her, Soph and me some toast. Steve came downstairs and said that we had the worst roommates check in, again!

They were two French guys drinking, getting ready to go out. Steve was getting ready for bed for work in the morning. I hope they leave soon. It was only 2200...

We went upstairs and I got ready for bed. I laid in bed, in my PJ's tucked in, 'waiting' to go to sleep. I thought if they saw me trying to sleep, it would make them hurry up and leave. To which it did!

Hurray, They left and Boris asked if I wanted the light out. I said yes and hoped that they had a good night...

4 notes · View notes